Recently, some newcomers complained to me, saying that they either lost money while buying USDT or mistakenly transferred coins to the wrong chain and lost them. For those of us who have been in the circle for a long time, hearing this might be somewhat shocking. But upon careful thought, it’s true that no one has popularized these basics, so I took some time to organize this article: A Guide for Newcomers to Avoid Pitfalls When Buying Coins + How to Recover Coins Transferred to the Wrong Chain.

1. Can coins transferred to the wrong chain be recovered? (I believe even those who consider themselves experienced might not know this)

Yes, but the methods differ:

For coins lost when transferring out of an exchange: Open the transfer history, find the order, copy the hash value, and then contact the exchange customer service. Explain the situation to the customer service and ask them to help you contact the miner to recover the coins; you only need to pay some miner fees (the miner will deduct it directly from your tokens). Remember, you must know this; if you don't bring it up, they won't proactively help you contact the miner!

For coins lost when transferring from wallet to wallet: This is a bit more troublesome; you need to find a miner yourself, and usually, no one takes small orders. However, it’s not that coins lost in wallet transfers are hopeless; it’s just that the difficulty is high, and you can appropriately increase the bounty!

So, newcomers should not think that losing coins in a transfer is the end of the world!

2. Three things newcomers must understand when buying USDT

1️⃣ Differences in exchange rates, don’t passively give away money

USDT ≈ 1 USD, but exchanging RMB for USDT doesn’t necessarily follow the real-time USD exchange rate.

Actual USD exchange rate is 7.2, seller's quote is 7.5-7.8

Buying 1000 USDT might cause you to unnecessarily spend an extra 300-600 RMB

Avoid pitfalls: Check the real-time exchange rate, calculate the unit price, and do not trade casually in private.

2️⃣ Chain issues, don’t get it wrong!

USDT has multiple chains: TRC20, ERC20, BEP20, Polygon, etc.

If the other party gives you a TRC20 address and you choose ERC20, then you can only ask the seller to help you contact customer service!

Test with small amounts first, then transfer large amounts

Newcomers are advised to use TRC20; it’s cheaper and faster

3️⃣ Storage method, don’t “buy and forget in someone else's account”

If the private key is not in your hands, the risk is high

Don’t store it on small platforms; risk control and failures can affect withdrawals

Wallets, mnemonic phrases should be stored offline; do not screenshot, do not share with others

Additional reminder: Don’t ignore security for the sake of cheap deals

Trading on unknown platforms or with strangers may cost you fake coins or fake pages

The cost of security is always more important than saving a little money!$ETH